Lots of Bills! - 3/22/26

Greetings!

This is the time in the session when we get to see all the good work that has been quietly happening in Committee rooms come to fruition. It is gratifying and encouraging to get to learn more about these bills and the solutions they present to solve problems in Vermont. I will give you a rundown of a few to give you a flavor of what your legislature has been up to. (Keep in mind - these bills passed the House but still need to go to the Senate and be signed by the Gov, so they are not yet law.)

• We passed a bill to change vehicle inspections from annually to every other year to save Vermonters money and time. Apparently other states do this and there have been minimal safety issues. 

• As part of a bill (H935) to support local emergency management committees (which are “required” municipal entities) there is a component to add Ready Response and Technical Rescue Grant programs to support local preparedness.

• H723 changes the rules around posting of land for hunting to make it easier. Posted signs will be valid for 365 days, not by calendar year, and the law loosens language around the posting requirements.

• There is a good bill (H757) updating language around manufactured housing (which used to be called mobile homes) to align with the current reality of these homes being fixed, not mobile, and of much higher quality. So, they will be treated as real estate like other houses in terms of zoning and other legal considerations. This is important because these are the only affordable homes available these days.

• Guns. We passed a very mild gun bill to align with existing federal law that will 1) make stealing any firearm a felony, 2) restrict gun ownership for persons who are found by a court to be in need of treatment for a mental illness and 3) H.606 gives local prosecutors the option to charge the crime of possession if federal prosecutors decline to do so. Additionally, it  prohibits devices that effectively turn any gun into an automatic weapon by increasing the weapon’s rate of fire or the rate at which the trigger is activated. These devices are commonly known as “Glock switches” and auto sears, and they are present in Vermont (including at drug-crime scenes and others). Twenty-eight states already prohibit them, and gun manufacturer Glock supports their prohibition. This bill was asked for by state prosecutors for public safety reasons. 

• On housing, H775 proposes to create the Rural Housing Finance Pilot Program and the off-site construction accelerator pilot program which will facilitate more affordable construction of homes. It creates a mechanism to authorize municipalities to issue revenue bonds backed by special assessments for the purpose of financing a public improvement within a special assessment district (to facilitate housing being built). And it gives the Office of the State Treasurer’s authority and flexibility with regard to supporting various housing initiatives. 

• There was also a miscellaneous tax bill which largely addresses small issues but this year decouples some of our tax code from the federal system because of recent federal laws. It also allows $10M from the Ed fund to go to our hurting Transportation Fund. 

This is just a sampling of what was recently passed. These bills are all the result of weeks of testimony and consideration, often going through multiple iterations, and often being voted out of committee with tri-partisan support. 

On Education:

House Education is working on a bill to create mandatory statewide Cooperative Education Service Areas (CESAs). The current proposed language establishes up to seven CESAs across the state. 

The core function of a CESA is to offer education services and support on a larger, regional scale. The formation of a CESA helps member supervisory unions and school districts access specialized programs and technical assistance that individual districts (esp. small and rural districts) might need. Advantages of a CESA include broader responsive service abilities, greater capacity to hire high quality staff, opportunities for cooperative purchasing, and enhanced opportunities to apply for and administer grants. The committee received testimony that CESA services in the following areas offer opportunities for cost savings and efficiency: special education; business and administrative services; professional development; curriculum coordination; and transportation. Research from similar states shows that CESAs effectively improve access to services and reduce duplication.

This bill aligns with the goal of Act 73 (last year’s Ed bill) to make intentional, evidence-based improvements to strengthen our public education system. Establishing CESA regions across the state will increase statewide coherence and build regional capacity. Vermonters want increased efficiencies, opportunities, and cost savings in the present state while we work towards strategic mergers.

The current bill language tasks CESA regions with facilitating conversations with members around the advisability of school district mergers. This bill creates a facilitator-led process (to be set up as quickly as feasible) for CESA members to have regional discussions around the possibility of school district mergers using a process outlined in current law. The language in this bill is currently under development and many policy decisions remain.